Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has secured almost €3.7m in research funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) as part of the Irish Government’s €30m investment in research infrastructures that was awarded to research groups recently.

Dr Willie Donnelly, head of research at WIT, said the SFI investment recognises the strategic importance and scientific merits of the institute’s ongoing research programmes.

He said the latest SFI investment would help WIT to increase its research outputs, resulting in increased academic and industry collaborations.

SFI has invested in four WIT projects that collaborate with ICT, pharmaceutical, medical device, food and advanced materials companies.

WIT’s Telecommunications Software and Systems Group’s FAME test bed has received funding of almost €2m as part of the SFI funding. The aim of the FAME test bed is to provide a platform for academia and industry operating in the ICT space to experiment with and test and validate protocols, algorithms, tools and services.

The Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre (PMBRC) at WIT was awarded almost €339,000 in funding to purchase a glovebox-mounted Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) system.

The PMBRC also secured €307,721 to purchase a multifunctional supercritical fluid (SCF) and extrusion and injection moulding system that will be used by the pharmaceutical, medical device and other high-technology sectors.

Finally, the South East Applied Materials Research Group at WIT obtained funding of more than €1m to procure a next-generation X-ray microtomography (XMT) system, otherwise known as an industrial CT scanner. This system allows for the 3D analysis of large dense structures, such as orthopaedic and biomedical implants.